A new study presented today at the World Congress on Osteoporosis (IOF WCO-ECCEO10) in Florence, Italy shows that DMPA, a commonly used injectible contraceptive, is associated with higher risk of bone fracture when used alone, and not in combination with estrogens.

Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a progestin-only long acting reversible hormonal contraceptive birth control drug which is injected every 3 months. It is used by more than 9 million women worldwide, with high usage among teenagers in Europe and the US. Previous studies have shown that use of DMPA is associated with impaired bone acquisition during adolescence and accelerated bone loss later in life, mainly in younger women with lower estrogen levels. However, few studies have looked into the impact of DMPA on fracture risk.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland and the Boston University Medical Center, Lexington, USA, used a case-control analysis to evaluate the relationship between long-term use of DMPA, with or without estrogen, and the risk of fractures. The results show that in women below 50 years of age, longer-term use of DMPA of two and more years is associated with a 50% increased risk of fracture. For users of combined estrogen-containing oral contraceptives fracture risk was not increased.

OC7 – published in Osteoporosis International Vol. 21 Sup. 1

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ABOUT IOF

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is a nongovernmental umbrella organization dedicated to the worldwide fight against osteoporosis, the disease known as “the silent epidemic”. IOF’s members – committees of scientific researchers, patient, medical and research societies and industry representatives from around the world – share a common vision of a world without osteoporotic fractures. Launched in 1998 with the merger of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (EFFO, founded in 1987) and the International Federation of Societies on Skeletal Diseases, IOF now represents 195 societies in 92 locations. http://www.iofbonehealth.org

ABOUT ESCEO

The European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to a close interaction between clinical scientists dealing with rheumatic disorders, pharmaceutical industry developing new compounds in this field, regulators responsible for the registration of such drugs and health policy makers, to integrate the management of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis within the comprehensive perspective of health resources utilization. The objective of ESCEO is to provide practitioners with the latest clinical and economic information, allowing them to organize their daily practice, in an evidence-based medicine perspective, with a cost-conscious perception. http://www.esceo.org

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